


No Equal Bond

by Innin



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Authority Figures, F/F, Femslash, UST, community: seasons of kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 20:11:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4890493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innin/pseuds/Innin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Galadriel gets more than she bargained for when Melian grants her request to learn magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Equal Bond

**Author's Note:**

> To fill the "Authority Figures" square for Season of Kink. Set before other Galadriel/Melian fics I've written.

The noise of her chamber door falling shut startled Galadriel out of a dream, mere moments before a lantern flamed to life and revealed a grey-clad figure by the door, a servant and guard of Melian. 

"The Lady wishes to see you. At once." 

Galadriel rose from her bed and tugged her night-gown into place, running her hands through her hair, still damp and heavy from a bath in the evening. She made to sit down by her mirror to begin to braid it, but the guard - one of Melian's own favourites, hand-picked from her army of ladies-in-waiting - caught her wrist with fingers in a glove of silk and steel, and stayed her hand. 

"That will do. She did not ask for you to be presentable, nor to delay." 

Galadriel removed the woman's fingers from her arm, swallowing the noise of disdain that that behaviour elicited, and in the mirror saw the muscles on the guard's face twist, badly hidden under the veneer of implacability. And yet - a summons from Melian… Galadriel felt her heart beat high in her throat, driving out the last of the bleariness of sleep, and instead of the scathing reply on her tongue, she merely reached for a gold-embroidered cloak that would let her preserve at least a little dignity if she was made to venture from her chambers in her nightclothes. 

"Very well. Bring me to her."

Gladly, this late at night the corridors of the city were empty excepting a few passersby who kept their respectful distance, and it was still enough for the soft falls of Galadriel's bare feet to be audible over the rustle of her clothes. She tried to imagine being paraded as she was now through the palaces of her grandfathers in Tirion or Alqualondë, and found it unthinkable, not merely for the indignity - there was a cloud pulled over those memories, and she preferred that it stay so. Even though she herself was kin to king Thingol and had dwelled for several years in Menegroth, she still felt as though she were a guest, weighed down with knowledge that she could not divulge, not if she wished to hope that the quest of the Noldor was to be successful and foster brotherhood between Doriath and the realms in the making.

Was that the reason behind Melian's summons, coming so at unawares to count on Galadriel's lowered defenses, perhaps even to find her thoughts _láta_ to easier read them and discern the secrets Melian knew she had? 

And yet - for all its probable reasons, the summons had every air of a secret tryst, and Galadriel could not help a thrill. The form Melian had chosen was fair indeed, in a way that had drawn Galadriel's eyes more than once with less than courteous thoughts - and it was no surprise that it should be so. From what she had heard among the gossip of the court sometimes when the queen was absent to inspect the defenses of the Girdle, there must be a glamour of sorts on her that masked her true appearance - instead she would appear so that each mind had the freedom to see her as fairest, perhaps even most desirable, to its own measure, beyond the dark-haired form of a Sinda of Doriath. 

It made Galadriel wonder what else Melian could have to teach. She had asked it before, and been rebuffed with Melian's gentle firmness, a promise and a rejection both, _not yet_. But before her thoughts had a chance to stray further, Galadriel and her guard passed a corner and entered the tunnel leading to Melian's chambers. Menegroth was graciously spaced in the most cramped quarters, but here there was space enough for lines of slender stone-hewn trees on either side of the corridor. Their roots formed channels and pools for threads of running water, their leaves had been fashioned in silver and verdigris copper that tinkled like windchimes in a breath of air, and the clustered blossoms between were a brilliant crystal white that shone softly from within.

The image struck her with a pang of homesickness. The trees were the very image of Telperion in his twilight, and Galadriel kept her eyes on the floor for the rest of the way, scanning the mosaic of stars and nightingales set amid a deep blue of the sky at midnight, until they reached the doors and the guard withdrew. 

"The Lady bade me bring you here and follow no further. She awaits within." 

"Thank you." She listened to the woman's receding footfalls for a moment, still at a loss why Melian had summoned her, then reached for the doors. They swung open at barely a touch, and stepping inside, Galadriel might have strayed into a misty forest in the world above: nightingales sang in the distance and here there were true trees, not likenesses of stone - beech, oak and elm that reached their branches toward a ceiling invisible in the dark. Damp earth and moss were under Galadriel's feet. 

Melian awaited her in a bower of climbing flowers, amid a bed of blankets, cushions and pillows, and beckoned her closer. Once more Galadriel was struck by the loveliness of her queen - a round face with gently upswept eyes and full lips, and dark waves of hair falling like a waterfall to her hips. A star - the diadem of Doriath - was set on her forehead, and when she rose, it became apparent that she wore only a shift of sheer, shining grey that did nothing to conceal the form of her naked body underneath. 

Any thought or question that Galadriel might have had fled at the sight of Melian, and she found herself baffled that her least likely guess as to the purpose of the summons seemed indeed to be the reason. 

Melian approached and reached out her hand, and taking it Galadriel found herself being pulled with gentle force into the bower and down into the silk. She did not resist.

"You came. I am glad, for I came to a decision about you," Melian said. There was an echo of nightingales in her speech, and Galadriel found herself transfixed, staring at her lips and the light in her face as a desperate traveller would follow a light at the dark, though it might lead her into the unknown. It was with startling clarity that she realized that it was not merely desire that she had for Melian - she would do anything to please or pleasure her, and gladly go to heart's breaking and beyond, if she was commanded to.

Unperturbed, if she sensed the turmoil of Galadriel's heart, Melian continued speaking. 

"You came to me at the beginning of your stay, and asked to be taught what I had to teach of magic. You must have skill, for silent as they are now, I know that my kin have taught you a little in Aman, for I have watched you closely and some things have no other explanation." She reached out, and resting a finger under Galadriel's chin tipped her head up to study her. Galadriel let her, basking in the warmth of the touch.

"Nor, despite the secrets you conceal, do I doubt that your reasons for keeping them are in the end honourable rather than evil, and so those you shall keep - for now. And I am assured of your love and trust by the look on your face alone... but for stronger magic such as you would learn from me, there is no equal bond to the one forged by the deed of love freely given, for I have learned that it makes the intimacy of the teaching easier and more joyful. Magic can be a harsh mistress, and having memories such as this to sustain you will be a great help."

She waited, and when Galadriel found herself unable to answer, continued, "If you would have me teach you, this is what I must ask." 

"But how can I gift you this of my own free will when you have bespelled me so?" Galadriel heard herself ask, her voice breathless, dim and faded over the heartbeat loud in her ears. She wanted to - wanted Melian, wanted her and all she had to teach without reservation or doubt, save this only.

Melian laughed softly. "Perhaps you are astonished by the depth of your feelings, leading you to call this a spell - but you err. I _could_ have you love me even against your will, but there is no enchantment on you, my dear. I would gain nothing from that except your breaking, and you Elves are so fragile already. I would much rather have your joy. Will you give me that?" 

"Then I will, Lady, I will." Galadriel said. "Have all of me."


End file.
